Winning
by nubesdelchocolate
Summary: Rayne, River is out to win the argument and hatches a plan.
1. Boredom

**Winning**

Disclaimer: It's not mine, it's yours! . . . wait, no, it's theirs, sorry.

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**Boredom**

River was bored. She had already reread all of the books on the ship. Not that she had left her bed. After reading through a book once she could always read it again at any time, each page appearing clearly within her mind. She had started "reading" about three hours ago. After going through Inara's guidebooks, she had moved on to Kaylee's romance novels.

River was fascinated by the different views of sex presented in each. One focusing on control, comfort, and technicalities. The other full of people overwhelmed with feelings and passion, giving in to intense desire with sex that lacked finesse, but had a poetry of its own. She usually read Kaylee's books twice.

Afterwards, she quickly went through the various manuals and random novels that were around the ship, but no one could remember buying. She slowed down when she got to Jayne's newest gun magazine. This one was relatively new, she had only read through it once the night before.

Jayne had just sat down on his bed to read it when River had snuck down his ladder. Jayne hadn't even looked up, he'd simply tossed his magazine aside. Only then did he meet her eyes and open his arms with a silent plea.

They had had a fight earlier. He knew there would be no sex for him tonight, but he also knew he couldn't sleep without her, hadn't been able to since their first sexless night together five months ago.

She didn't say anything, she wasn't ready to talk the fight out, but she didn't hesitate as she walked over to the bed and straight into his arms. They curled up close and were asleep within minutes.

A few hours later River woke up when Jayne squeezed her too tightly. He always held her tight when they were fighting as if his subconscious _had_ to apologize, couldn't stand the fight, worried that she would decide that this time would be the time that she had had enough and leave.

Now River needed something to put her back to sleep. Her eyes fell on the magazine where he had thrown it next to the bed. River thought about the time about a month ago when she had wanted to talk about a new kind of bullet that was meant to be shot into a non-fatal part of the body, but once inside, it released a drug instantly into the bloodstream that put the victim to sleep. It meant someone could silently take someone out from far away without killing them . . . handy.

Unfortunately, Jayne was out on a job, so she couldn't talk with him. Besides, he'd probably just say that it was cheaper to kill them. So, she was sitting and drawing in the mess while Simon drank tea. He didn't try to look over and see her drawing. He used to look at her work all the time when she drew animals, ballerinas, and dolls. When he had looked over to see the insides of a man on display, he stopped looking.

The man she had drawn was not like the ones from his medical texts, where parts of the outer skin had been sterilely removed to provide a clear view of infected internal organs. No, this man had been sliced open, seemingly by a dull blade, while he was hanging by his wrists. The worst part had been that the man's eyes had been wide open with shock, implying that he had been alive when this gruesome surgery began. He stopped looking.

Now, she was doodling another man, part of his shin was exploding with blood and bone shards flying out, but his face as he fell to the ground remained peaceful . . . handy.

Without thinking it through, she started explaining the new bullet, wanting to know how long someone would be knocked out based on different weight, body type, point of entry, etc. Simon did his best to answer her questions, but had to ask finally, "Where did you read about this?"

It didn't even occur to her to lie, this was Simon after all, "Jayne's gun magazine."

"You read it?"

"Yes."

"How'd you get it?"

River paused, in mind only, because her hand continued to detail the muscle ripping. "He left it on the table." She lied casually.

She could feel Simon's eyes on her and lightly cursed him for being so smart and observant. He knew that Jayne only read in his bunk. Last time Jayne had sat reading in the mess, he had stormed out after only a few minutes amidst jokes about apes that could read and picture book style gun magazines.

However, River didn't need him to believe the lie, she just needed him to not guess the truth. By lying about where she got it, he could assume she had stolen it, which wasn't good either, but much better than the alternative.

River was pulled out of her "reading" and her concentric memories when she heard a strange echo resounding through her head. It took her a moment to realize that it meant that Jayne was reading the same magazine at this instant. Well, that's one way to beat boredom, but River could think of a much more fun one.

He was almost done and would be going to the mess for a snack in a few minutes. Well, she could see that he eats something.


	2. Baiting the Trap

**Winning**

Disclaimer: It's not mine, it's yours! . . . wait, no, it's theirs, sorry.

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**Baiting the Trap**

River slid from her bed and paused before slipping her panties out from under her dress. Jayne tended to simply rip through whatever stood between him and what he wanted and she couldn't afford to lose yet another pair.

She bounced up the stairs cheerfully, not running into anyone else. They were on a two week long trip through the black, which made most of the crew twitchy and a little stir-crazy. The captain loved it and so did River. She loved the quiet and the relaxation that came with being alone.

As a bonus, everyone tended to stay in their rooms much more often, an unconscious choice to avoid the conflicts that would inevitably crop up when seeing the same 6 people constantly for 2 weeks. This gave River the run of the ship for hours each day.

She reached the mess and glanced around. Where would be the best place for her to get the reaction she wanted?

_Ah ha_! She thought and stepped into the pantry. She scrambled up the shelves and carefully straddled the ceiling,

_Without a can this time_, she thought, smiling at the memory.

She focused again when she heard Jayne's bunk creak open. Her breath quickened as his combat boots clomped down the stairs and across the kitchen.

Oh god, she was wet just thinking about what was about to happen. And the cool air that rushed in as Jayne pulled open the door darted across her heated center, which was splayed wide open in her position.

She bit back a moan, her plan would be completely ruined if he knew she was there. She held her breath as he stepped beneath her to grab some food off the shelf.

She dropped neatly down to cling to his back, wrapping her arms and legs around him. Immediately Jayne slammed backwards into the wall, moving completely on instinct.

He froze when he heard her groan at the pain. A leering grin spread across his face and, now knowing exactly who was on his back, he leaned forward as he grabbed her arms and flipped her over his head to come slamming down on the grating of the pantry floor.

He quickly pivoted and dropped down, straddling her thighs and holding her arms above her head with one hand. She was losing control of the situation. She had been surprised when he had tossed her to the ground. Obviously, she could have held on, but she enjoyed a bit of rough along with her pleasure.

She gasped as Jayne simultaneously pushed three fingers into her and bit down hard on her nipple. Oh yeah, she had lost control of the situation. Of course, that could be fun, too . . .


	3. Snapping the Trap

**Winning**

AN: Thank you for the reviews! Ellisguy: there are 7 people, I can see where you were confused, I meant that 1 person out of 7 would look around at the other 6 and see them all the time :)

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**Snapping the Trap**

"So, ya forgive me?" he asked as he pulled up her dress and started licking around her belly button.

"No, but I don't need romance and flowers right now, I just need this," she grasped him through his clothes, rubbing a few times over his bulge. He dropped his head down on to her stomach and groaned, leaving off his tongue's attentions.

Now that she could breathe again she said, "The fact that you are attached to what I need is merely coincidental."

Jayne growled and looked up into her mocking grin. He did the only thing he knew to get the smile off her face and captured her lips with his. Yup, the smile was definitely gone and so was her control once again, which meant that Jayne was driving. Which meant that things progressed quickly.

He briefly rolled off so that he could undo his pants, and surprisingly enough he had the presence of mind to close the door of the pantry. She pulled her dress off as soon as he rolled away. She knew from experience that if she still had clothing on when he came back, it would be gone very soon, usually with a giant tear down the center.

Jayne was not a subtle man, if he wanted something, he was going to get it. Which is why she couldn't understand why he wouldn't tell everyone about them. It was clear that he wanted her. If it hadn't been clear after the first time, then the second and third time he jumped her that same day should have clarified things.

She wanted him just as much. After all, who had done the first jumping? So, why? Other than his fear of painful death, what stopped him from openly taking what he wanted? He was Jayne Cobb, no one and nothing stood in his way.

River wanted to come out, Jayne didn't. It's what they had fought about yesterday, and the week before that, and the month before that . . .

In fact, since two months into their affair, when Jayne had outright refused a whore who had come on to him in a bar, they had been having this fight. No one ever won and no compromises had been made, eventually she would need Jayne more than she needed her anger.

Plus, she supposed it wasn't the most _irrational_ fear of painful death. But she had had enough and this time the fight would_ end_.


	4. Winning

**Winning**

AN: I hope no one is bothered by the short chapters. They end when they want to end, so some are really short and some are much longer. Oh well.

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**Winning**

He was back and she was flushed bright pink and ready. Her nails dug into his shoulders as he pushed into her, he latched onto a nipple and nibbled away on his favorite treat.

They wouldn't last long, River had been ready to pop back when she was waiting on the ceiling and she had gotten Jayne's adrenalin pumping when she'd dropped on him.

When she felt that they were close, she started nuzzling on his throat. Their thrusts sped up and Jayne slipped his hand between them to help her along. It took barely a few swipes and she was coming hard, Jayne only lasted one more thrust and then he joined her in an intense orgasm.

River took her moment and bit down _hard_ on his neck just under his chin before he dropped his head down onto her chest. They lay wrapped together for a few moments until their breathing had returned to normal. Jayne rolled off reluctantly, but suddenly very aware that they were in the pantry and anyone could come by at any moment.

He got up and started to gather up their discarded clothing. He looked back at her when she didn't get up, but she only gazed back with a little half-smile on her face. What was she waiting for?

He felt something warm trickle down his neck. He reached his hand up to touch it and it came away bloody.

"What the . . ."

He grabbed a nearby pan and in the distorted image he could see the very clear bite mark, big, red, and unable to be mistaken for anything other than what it was.

"There's no way I can hide this!" He exclaimed while he glared down at her.

Her half-smile grew into a wide grin. She giggled and clapped her hands, "I win!"


	5. Resetting the Trap

**Winning**

AN: I've been having trouble getting the site to acknowledge my last chapter, so what do I do? I post another one!

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**Resetting the Trap**

River sat at the table, unknotting a ball of yarn. Simon had bought it for her when he caught her eyeing it at the market, half remembering some strange joke about knitting from when she had been more confused.

She'd been happy, not because she wanted to knit, but because the yarn was the exact blue of Jayne's eyes. So she had Jayne roll it out and put hundreds of huge tangled knots into it. It gave her something to do.

Everyone just assumed she put the knots into it herself, but that would have been pointless. She would have remembered every twist she'd made, do it in reverse, and have the mess straightened out within a minute or two. But if Jayne did it, it would take her a few hours, plus it gave her practice at _not_ reading his mind and seeing the answer.

He didn't mind if she read him usually. He was a man of few words, so if she could know his feelings without being told, it kept his life as simple as he liked it. He had brought up this practicing idea so that if a time came when she _didn't_ want others' thoughts running free in her head, she could do something about it.

Now, though, all she could get from Jayne was anger and panic coming from his bunk. He was too far away, she would have to concentrate to get clearer thoughts. She didn't want to though. Instead she sat and got lost in her own thoughts while her hands continued to steadily unknot the yarn.

Had she done the wrong thing? He had stomped out while she had still been laughing and hadn't come out of his bunk since. Was he truly not ready for this step?

No! He loved her and she loved him, they both knew it. It was time everyone else knew it, too.

She heard a bunk open. Jayne's?!!! . . . No, it was Mal. She calculated how many hours had passed and, oh right, dinner time.

Mal walked in and nodded in her direction, "We still on course?"

"Yes, we will arrive on Bernadette in 5 days, 16 hours, 33 minutes, and about 30 seconds, with a margin of error of +/- 10 seconds."

"Sounds good"

Oh ya, the crew was definitely used to her way of speaking. That made her feel happy. Here she was accepted, here she belonged. No one on board was "normal," so they had just had to get used to her slightly more unique version of not normal.

After Miranda they started to realize that most of her craziness wasn't actual insanity anymore, simply complete and utter brilliance. She was a genius after all, so extended metaphors and wild imagery were perfectly acceptable forms of speaking. Plus there was the whole psychic thing. But with Jayne's help, even that was getting better.

"Cap'n?" She had picked up Kaylee's name for him because in his mind, Kaylee and River were both in his "little sister" category.

"Uh huh?" He was busy preparing dinner, protein in all the colors of the rainbow.

"Everyone's going to come out for dinner, right?"

"Course, we all eat together on my boat."

That was left over from his days growing up with his momma and all those ranch hands. Huge tables, lots of food, it's what made just a group into a family.

"Good, I haven't seen anyone else all day." She smiled, like smoking a fox out of its hole, she would chase Jayne out.


	6. Last Ditch Attempt to Win

**Winning**

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**Last Ditch Attempt to Win**

About half an hour later everyone but Jayne was around the table, waiting not so patiently for him.

"Ugh, I guess it's my job to get him?"

"It's your boat, your rules," Kaylee chirped happily.

"As he likes to remind us daily." Simon mumbled into Kaylee's ear.

She gently elbowed him, giving him a mock Mal scowl, all furrowed brow and intense gaze. The whole table dissolved into laughter as Mal went out into the crew's hall and kick-knocked on Jayne's hatch.

"'M not hungry," came the shouted reply.

After Mal took a second for the shock of that statement to sink in he replied, "I don't care if you eat. I care that everyone comes out and sits at that dinner table. Now get your ass up."

He continued to kick the hatch loudly until Jayne pulled it open and climbed out. At this point everyone who had been watching the scene and chatting fell into silence. Jayne stomped past a bemused looking Mal and into the mess, plopping down heavily into a chair.

Mal followed him in and sat, wondering what to say. Simon, however, came up with something first.

"Jayne, is there a hitchhiking mudder you're trying to avoid?"

Jayne was wearing his hat from Canton with the flaps tightly clasped under his chin. "I'm out here, can we just shut up and eat?"

"Thought you weren't hungry?" Mal countered as he watched Jayne take a big scoop of protein.

"Changed my mind," he growled out.

Almost all of the crew shrugged their shoulders and got started on their own food. No one noticed the death glare River was sending at Jayne, except Jayne. He looked across at her, pleading with his eyes to make her understand that he was just not ready. She didn't care if he was ready, if she gave in now, he never would be.

Jayne ate quickly, trying to get away from the table first, but River rarely ate much and so was done a few bites ahead of him. She grabbed her plate and made like she was going to the sink, but instead she stopped behind Jayne and pulled off his hat.

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AN: I know, I'm evil, or at least I hope people out there care enough about this for it to be a cliffhanger. This one was pretty short, but next one is much longer and full of revealy goodness! Thank you for the reviews I've gotten. 


	7. Winning, Losing

**Winning**

**Winning, Losing, and What Really Matters**

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"Hey!"

Jayne automatically tilted his head back to look at her, putting the bite mark on display to the whole table. River took a step back, looking smug. Mal was the first to break the confused silence, working out what was going on out loud while everyone else did it in their heads.

"Jayne, what? We ain't been off ship . . . who? Is that really a bite mark?"

Jayne clamped a hand to his neck and turned toward River. "You're going to pay for that!"

She just glared. She had won, he needed to stop fighting it.

Mal's mouth gaped open. "_She's_ going to pay . . .?"

Then Mal's gun was in his hand as was Zoe's. Simon stood up, wishing he carried a gun, or a syringe of poison. Inara pulled Kaylee out of the way, both girls' faces showing absolute disgust. Then the yelling started.

"Jayne, what did you do! How could you!"

"What kind of a sick bastard are you?"

"You tried to cover up . . . she fought you and you covered it. . . ."

"Then you threaten her in front of everyone? Are you that stupid? You really think you could get away with this?"

"It's sick and twisted, you're sick and twisted."

Jayne sat staring at his plate, he couldn't get a word in amongst all the yelling and if he moved he'd probably be shot, so he sat. River was shocked. He'd been right and she had most definitely not won. And now . . .

They continued to yell obscenities and threats and he could feel Mal's hand tightening on the trigger with every exclamation. It all came to a crashing halt when a plate smashed loudly on the floor and a shrill voice cried out, "JAYNE!!!"

Unnoticed, River had been stumbling backward, out of control. She hit the counter and collapsed to the ground, the plate falling with her, her hands clutching her head. Jayne hadn't seen her as she was still behind him. Now, he turned sharply in his chair and before Simon could get around the table, he was out of his chair and sitting on the floor next to River. Hands relaxed on guns as everyone stared on in shock as River reached out to Jayne.

"Jayne, help, so much rage and disgust, HELP ME!"

She screamed out the last part, her voice full of pain. He reached out and pulled her back to his front, sitting her on his outstretched legs. One arm wrapped around her shoulders, stopping the worst of her shakes while his other hand began to rub slow, calming circles on her belly.

"It's ok, baby, yer ok, jus' listen to my voice, breathe with me now."

"So much rage."

"Not anymore, now yer safe with me, focus, ummm . . . from biggest to smallest."

"Vera, Alice, Eva, Cadence, Grace, Paige, Sophie, Olivia, Samantha, Kayla, Vicky, Brooke, Rosie, Jemma, Caroline, Angie, Leah, Jackie, Claire, Becca, Madeline, Katie, Courtney, Mariah, Molly, Annie, Leslie, Giselle, Tamara, Susie, Cassie, and little Shelby," she listed, interrupted frequently by great shuddering gasps and a few sobs.

"Good, good, from oldest to newest."

"Cassie, Tamara, Giselle, Vera, Annie, Mariah, Katie, Becca, Jackie, Angie, Jemma, Brooke, Kayla, Olivia, Paige, Grace, Eva, Samantha, Vicky, Rosie, Caroline, Leah, Claire, Shelby, Madeline, Courtney, Molly, Leslie, Susie, Sophie, Cadence, Alice." This time she sounded clearer, more in control.

"Ummm, shiniest to dullest."

"Requirements are too subjective for properly ordered list . . . besides you keep them all gleaming."

"Damn right I do! That's my girl, all the emotional crap out of my darlin's pretty head?" He kissed the top of that pretty head.

"No."

"No?" He repeated, slightly alarmed, he had never failed to calm her down before.

"No, I feel guilty, I almost got you shot, my beautiful Jayne, full of holes, gasping . . ." She started to get worked up again.

"No, none of that, I'm fine and the Captain ain't gonna shoot me, right?" He glared over at he crew. Most had sunk into chairs, trapped with a horrible fascination into watching Jayne do two things no one had thought possible: calm River without drugs and be gentle.

"Oh, um, eh hem" Mal stumbled out, and then as if the words startled even him, "No, no I'm not."

"How did you do that?" Simon's soft voice made everyone turn.

"Do what?"

"Get her under control without a sedative?" He sounded desperate, this man held the key to doing what he'd been trying to do ever since he had brought River on board.

"Ah, hell, I just do anythin' to get her to focus on somethin' else."

"What were those names she listed?" Zoe asked.

"My guns, she knows all their names and jus' loves cat-, cat- . . ."

"Categorizing," River whispered as she turned in Jayne's lap to snuggle into his arms.

"Ya, that, she does that to 'em, all I do is give her the rules."

"You've done this before." Simon stated, mostly to get himself to believe it rather than as a question.

"Ya, she has nightmares . . ." He trailed off, letting the implications of that sink in.

"How long?" Mal joined back in.

"Bout 5 months now."

"5 months . . ." Something dawned on Simon. He hadn't had to give her anything at night nor heard a sound from her bunk when he had checked on her before he want to bed. Now, he knew it was because she hadn't even been in there. He had thought it was because of Miranda, that she had gotten better.

"I did!"

Everyone jumped as River responded to something that hadn't been voiced. "I did get better, Jayne just helps when I stumble, he makes sure I don't hit the ground."

"Why'd you bite him?" Kaylee shyly ventured.

"I wanted to win, tired of talking in circles. Oh Jayne! I didn't know, I'm so so sorry, I didn't win, I nearly lost everything."

"Hey, hey, shhh, I told you not to start and you _were_ right, I shouldn't have made you keep another secret, your head's full enough." River sunk back into his embrace.

"Jayne, what are y'all talking' about? She go wooley on you?" Mal asked.

"No! She knew what she was doin' . . . ok," he sighed and started into the story in response to the confused looks he got. "We've been fightin' for a few months now, about if we should tell everyone 'bout us. She wanted to, I didn't. So she got it in her head to mark me, no one could ignore a bite on my neck when we ain't been in port for over a week and there weren't no way I coulda done this myself and well, she was right."

The crew digested this story, most of them trying to ignore what River and Jayne must have been doing that he didn't notice her going for his throat. Then River lifted her head and spoke.

"Jayne, I'm so tired."

"Right, darlin, let's go to bed. I could use some sleep, ya know I don't sleep good after we fight."

"Neither do I."

"You're taking her to your bunk?" Mal asked uncertainly.

"Ah hell, Mal, I figure one good thing came out of this, I don't have to wait for the rest of you to go to bed before River comes on down to my bunk, which she's been doin' for months now. You gonna raise a fuss after all this time?"

"No, I just . . . this is new."

"Not for us it ain't." And with that, he stood up, still clutching River to his chest and walked out

to his bunk door. River hopped down, pushed open the hatch and climbed down with Jayne following after.

"Huh." Mal left the mess to go sit quietly on the bridge.

Kaylee squeezed Inara's hand before letting it go and then stepped forward to grasp Simon's arm and gently pulled him toward his bunk. He must have been emotionally exhausted, too, because he allowed her to lead him out without a word.

Zoe's hand automatically went up to the leather cord around her neck. With a bittersweet smile at Inara she turned and followed after the others, dropping down into her own bunk.

Inara looked around the kitchen, sighed and started cleaning up the dinner dishes. She couldn't remember whose turn on kitchen duty it was, but no one else was up to it and she didn't mind. It gave her time to think.

She hadn't been able to add much to the conversation before. She had been so surprised that she hadn't seen it coming, hadn't seen the signs for 5 months. But, by the time she put the last plate in the drying rack, she was smiling. No, she hadn't seen it coming, but in the end it made its own kind of sense.

She left the mess and was about to turn towards her shuttle when she saw Mal on the bridge. Without a thought her feet had carried her down the hall and up the stairs. She paused at the doorway. Mal was looking out at the stars, but she knew he knew she was there.

She walked over to his chair and looked down at him. Their eyes met and he opened his arms to her. She gracefully perched on his lap, then realized there was no need for grace, she could relax here. And she did just that as she let herself settle into his embrace, her head falling back onto his shoulder. They just sat, enjoying the stars together.

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AN: There is another bit to this story, I don't know if I want to post it, it's extremely fluffy and squishy, I'm kinda embarrassed to have written it. I may revise it and then post it, but I'm ok with this ending, too. 


	8. The Champions

**Winning**

**The Champions**

AN: You asked for it and it's my pleasure to deliver excessive cuddling and cuteness! With this, the story is officially ended, hope you enjoyed!

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Meanwhile, Jayne and River stood looking at each other down in his bunk. Jayne didn't know quite what to do, which was unusual, considering he was standing in a room with a bed and a beautiful girl. They were both waiting. Neither knew what for.

Then, River gave a little sniffle and swayed slightly, getting over the last of her panic attack. Suddenly, all Jayne wanted to do was fold her up in his arms and hold her. So, he did. A few short steps and her body fit into his embrace like a puzzle piece. He just held onto her and she wrapped her arms just as tightly around him.

After a few minutes, he held her slightly tighter to his chest, lifting her up. He took the few necessary steps to the bed. River pulled her legs up and to the side so he could sit on the edge with her on his lap.

He pulled back then and looked her in the eye as he drew her dress up and over her head. She reached her arms up so he could remove it, leaving her in just panties. She smiled and reached out for his shirt, removing it before undoing his belt.

He laid down, still holding her to his chest, using one hand to pull off his pants, leaving him in boxers. Now they curled up with the ultimate comfort of skin on skin.

"Do you still love me?" Her voice was almost teasing. After all, he still hadn't let her go.

"Oh ya, baby, I do. Do you love me?" He smiled into her face as a huge grin appeared.

"Yes, yes, greatly."

"There now, ya see, we both win."

With a tender kiss, he pulled her even closer, which didn't even seem possible, and closed his eyes. They were both exhausted from the high emotions in the kitchen. They were asleep in minutes, sleeping the sleep of the victorious.


End file.
